LOANS FOR TRAMWAYS

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1930, Page 11

LOANS FOR TRAMWAYS

extensions in westown

ECHEME TO PROVIDE MORE LOOPS

GREATER SPEED AND ECONOMY. Proposals for the further duplication of parts of the main tram route in New , Plymouth at a co t of £5500 and for the extension of the Westown tramway from David Street to the borough boundary at a cost of £11,209 were explained to 40 or -50 ratepayers in the Workers Social Hall last night. A number of questions were asked at the conclusion ©f tho addresses. • These proposals, said the Mayor (Mi. H V. S. Griffiths), were by no means new. They had been in the minds of councillors ano had been dealt with fairly extensively in the Press over a considerable period. At the poll to be taken on May 14 ratepayers would be asked to vote' upon- them as two separate issues. , ~ - The Mayor’s detailed explanation of the two proposals was largely on the lines of those given at Westown recently by Mr. S. G. Smith, MLP., andl Mr. F Amoore. So far as the loan of £owo was concerned, he said, this was required for several duplications of ' the present main line in Devon and St: Aubyn streets. Th. object was to speed up the service, thereby cutting out delays caused by trams Laving to wait to pass on the loops. Further duplication of the lines was the only method by which these delays could bo avoided. This inv movement was long overdue and the council had received repeated representations by letter and otherwise to make the duplications in order to speed up the service. - ' . . Some time ago the council decided to convert its present rolling stock into one-man cars. This change would make the additional loops absolutely essential if a faster service were to be given, lhe conversion to the one-man system would effect a saving of £9OO a year, and he thought, therefore, that the necessity fOi the new loops would be apparent. After quoting the tramways manager s °P -on the. matter, already published. Mi. Griffiths said -everything the council had heard about the matter had been in favour of the construction of the extra loops. He felt confident, therefore, that <r. polling day the proposal would meet with the approval not only of the ratepayers present that night but of the majority of the ratepayers of the borough. ■ . THE WESTOWN EXTENSION. Referring to the- loan proposal for '£11,200 Mr. Griffiths .explained that £9600 was required for the extension of the line 58.85 chains from the present terminus at David Street to the borough boundary at Wallath Road, and the remaining £l6OO for widening the road, en route, including kerbing and channelling, metalling, and sealing, etc., for 61 chains, a I’ 1 tie further than the tramline. Was this expenditure justified? he asked. Unhesitatingly the council said it wasam before the meeting terminated .he be Iwjvcd the ratepayers present would endorse that opinion. ’ After tracing the history of the conBlruction «t the Woslown hue » far.™

Morley Street Mr. Griffiths recaiiea he had voted against the extension to David Street on the ground that such a thing was unfair to the suburb m to be effective the line should have been X at least to the borough boundary as far as the bus then went. I have ■not changed my opinion smee then, de dared the Mayor. “It was not fan to take away a facility the residents of

service was remstitutea as nurseries. The two services,, tram and bus were at present, operating to the detriment of one and the other. ]Nei wi could be expected %P ay sarv for th- council to purchase another order to provide . standby on the suburban services and to gi overhauling the vehicles. . Deal in" with the financial side oi tne. Jk the Mayor said there wouMbe n savin" of £l4l 4s each ycai. l o BU P ;„rt this he quoted iig ur« the tramways manager m to council on December .16: lucre win ■ bo an increased expenditure on tl je trailc ri 264 ner annum, and. a loss Ke «vfnue at’presencelrned by the b ra -£4lB 13,. This makes a tota o -PlfiS2 13s per annum. On tne ornci hand there will be the following savings effected by the discontinuance of the bus service: Present working expenses anl unn,! charges on the bus service to overhead char cs Us- ' overhead be discontinued, 1/s, ~ charges on new bus which would otheiiise'have to be'purchased, depreciation 7( ner cent., interest 5 per cent, of rinm £4OO- increase in the tramways climated), £709; total, £1823 17s.’ / BATES LEVY unnecessary. If the council could show, a definite sa y illg -of £l4l/ and at the same tune pive a more efficient service it should be sufficient reason for the approval, of the Westown loan proposal, continued the Mayor before quoting the fig u [ cs y elat ‘ •in?to increased trips given at Westown [t"should be realised that Westown was vrowin" rapidly and the residents were Sn ed to a bettor service. The pro■nosals had been carefully scrutinised by the council and placed before the .Loca f’ovcrnment Loans Board. The board bad also given careful consideration to the whole matter from both financial Ind engineering points of view and as a result had referred it back to the ratepayers for their approval. The ratepayers were now to be asked to endorse the opinion of the council and the board. In the past the board had en ‘ l( - •L stop unwise expenditure and he could, assure them that if there had been anyS tao I ‘conSS n ‘" Xm jt b"?it “X ’«nUcip‘»‘«| « « uld everbe ievied The total ru e ,» = jv.tt.tlm 1 ,200 lea “±c d be neccsary to itlS a rate for Joan « * spending of which would make possible a saving of £9OO a year. Ci;. Smith, chairman of the electric light and. tramways committee,. reminded ratepayers' that the installation of a train service was one of the great fac-

tors in the progress of New Plymouth. No one on the council had an axe to grind, he said. He believed that after carefully scrutinising the proposals the ratepayers would realise that at least councillors were showing anxiety to save money wherever possible. If the information supplied by the engineer were correct and the proposals were carried they would result in more efficient services to Westown, to Moturoa and Fitzroy and a saving in money to the townspeople. The local tramways service compared more than favourably with any other service in a town of similar size. He contended that the people of Fitzroy and Moturoa who had had the benefits of a service over a period of years ! should now be prepared to vote the people of Westown the same facilities. The bus versus tram question did not enter this matter. The council was merely desiring to rectify a mistake made in not originally taking the tram beyond David Street. It could not be emphasised too strongly that the duplications on the main line would mean a faster and. more economic service and enable the council to save £9OO a.year by using one-man cars. The council had giyen the matter careful consideration and no heat or anger should enter thb controversy. If the ratepayers rejected the proposals the council would know it had done its best; if they were accepted they would be for the advantage of the borough generally.

WOULD BENEFIT OTHER SUBURBS

Some people believed that buses could be' run more cheaply than trams. He pointed out, however, that Palmerston North had greater difficulties over runnin" buses than New Plymouth in* the running of its trams. The bus to Upper Westown had had to be put on to keep faith with ratepayers there. Its withdrawal from that run. would give the tramways manager the opportunity of increasing, the services to Vogeltown and Avenue Road. Or. Smith was sure that an unbiased examination of the pro; posals would show that the council should be given credit for what it had done, and that the works would be for the benefit of the town as a whole... At.question time Mrs. Harris (Pioneer Road) asked how much the council had to pay. for land to be purchased in connection with the Westown .tram exten? sion. The Mayor: We are not buying any land along the tram track. The whole of the.-.lanfi for widening.-the street has been dedicated to the council.

Mrs. Harris: But-you must pay compensation to owners of private land through which you pass. The Mayor:' . We don’t traverse any private property. The tram will go along the public road, and owners of contiguous property have dedicated sufficient land to make the road 33 feet wide. , Mr. Griffiths added that the only form of compensation the council was paying was, as in other parts of the borough, a fair allowance for fencing. ’And do .you really think the trams are going to pay?” proceeded Mrs. Har-l-jst ’’They are a white elephant at present; Do you think, therefore, that these extensions will pay? They will only be another burden on the poor people. This last seven years the rates have gone up far more than half, and Mr.. Bellringer knows it. Referring to a statement of Mr. VV, H. Skinner that a saving of £l4l on the Westown running was a very fine margin’ to allow the Mayor said that was realised, but he reiterated the advantage of not having to purchase another bus. Mr. Skinner said he gave the council credit for what it had done, but he pointed out that in eight years the rates had gone up 75. per cent, on one property he knew of. There were other increases of 50, 50 and 30 per cent. Ratepayers had so often been subjected to nv creases in rates that the position waS becoming unbearable. The Mayor: Thb rates must go up as the borough grows. The population has doubled itself. Mr. Skinner:. That ought to bring the rates down.

TO INCREASE FACILITIES. i? The Mayor: Certainly not. How can we provide for increased facilities without increasing the rates? Mr. Skinner: Surely extra population should ’ > a factor in reducing rather than increasing them? Cr. Smith: t I know Mr. Skinner would not be unfair'. If he comes to the borough office and goes through' the. records of the past 12 years he will see what has been left for this council to tackle. He will see some reason for the expendi-

ture. -ii - Mr Griffiths said he fully appreciated what Mr. .Skinner had ‘said regarding rate's. He was a ratepayer himself, butas one in favour of the full Westown extension eight years ago he was the first to support it now. If he honestly believed it would mean a burden he would not press for the extension. ‘ Mr. Skinner said that while he sympathised with the Westown people and would like to help them, the tramway revenue was going back year after year. The Mayor: Can you point to a tramways system in,the Dominion that is not losing? Mr. G. Gaustad said he must compliment the Mayor on his explanation of the urgent need for duplications on the. Moturoa-Fitzroy run. In order to investigate the. position he recently took a special tram trip. There’were three other passengers on the. way out and three on the way in. Cars passed them en route with four or five passengers. *T then said ‘to myself,” continued Mr. Gaustad, “we must have duplication nn-' mediately, and save £9OO .by a quicker service.” Mr. Ewart recalled that at the meeting at Westown a statement was made that 125 houses would be served by the extension. That seemed a surprising statement, and he asked for substantiation.

Or. Smith: No member of the council said it. Mr. V. C. Davies, president oi tne Westown Progressive Association, said he had noticed a letter in the Daily News doubting that the figure was correct. The fmure was quite correct. That aiternoon he h 1 checked it during a tour of .the localities concerned. He iounu there were 48 houses from the tram terminius to Wallath Road, 14 in Wallath Road, 34 in Omata Road, including Walsh and Seaview Road, and 30 in Elliott Road, of which 12 were within 300 yards of the bus terminius. This was a total of 126. He had not included public institutions such as the Westown hall, Rotokare Teimis Club, or the nursery (with about 2000 visitors a year).. “Does the borough engineer live at Westown?” asked Mrs, Harris. The Mayor: We can’t discuss private residents. , . . Mrs. Harris: That is not private. Does he live there? The Mayor: Yes. Mrs Harris: I thought so. Thais w hy the trams are going up there.

(Laughter). I think the people should build their houses before the trams are taken past their properties. “Two or three time a day trams pass my place with not a soul in them except the conductor and the motorman,” she said. The Mayor said it was unfair to intro-’ duce the engineer’s name into the question. The agitation for an extension started eight years ago and the engineer was not in New Plymouth then. Mrs. Harris: Of course, I mean to throw no reflection on the engineer.

In reply tc Mr. Wright the Mayor said the Audit Department said they should allow 2 per cent, depreciation and 2 per cent, sinking fund on the trams. The council’s experience was that this was on the high side. Mr, Wright' thought the extension to Westown should, be deferred. Cr. Smith pointed out that if a rate were levied it would amount to 9d a £lOO on the unimproved value on the £5500 loan and Is 8d on the £lOO unimproved value for the £11,200. , Mr. Skinner moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor and Cr. Smith for their explanations. . •